Celebrities, fancy frocks and a lively media pit there may have been but it was the fans who brought the house down at the second annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival.
Thousands of Qatari residents and visitors lined up at the Katara Opera House to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars.
DTFF-branded white limousines arrived one after another to screams, cheers and incessant camera flashes.
Salma Hayek-Pinault and Yousra, serving on the festival jury, were the two ladies of the moment but the local stars also caused a big stir, in particular Wonho Chung from popular comedy series Axis of Evil.
Taking time to speak to as many mediapersons as possible, a lively Hayek looked playful in a gold and black cocktail dress with an A-line skirt.
"This is such a great platform for the Arab filmmakers and I believe that's what they need. I'm also so pleased to see there are so many women filmmakers involved in this festival. I am very happy about that."
"I am honoured to present Outside the Law as the opening night film at this year's Doha Tribeca Film Festival," said award-winning French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb, whose film had its Middle Eastern premiere at the opening event.
Celebrities in attendance included legendary Egyptian actor Adel Imam, Bosnian director Danis Tanovi, comedian Ahmed Ahmed, Indian directors Mira Nair and Bhavna Talwar, actress Mallika Sherawat, actor Alexander Siddig, Egyptian actor Lebleba, Ragna Al Guedani, Palestinian actor Yasmine Al Massri and American actors William Schimmel and Andrew McCarthy.
Shaikh Jaber Bin Yousuf Al Thani and Dr Hamad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari, Minister of Culture, along with Doha Film Institute's executive director Amanda Palmer, joined the stars on the red carpet before disappearing into a custom-made 2,800-seat outdoor theatre with views of the ocean.
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